September 1, 2005

Says Mickey Kaus. He's talking about Biden, but I wonder if it's true as a broad proposition. I'm not too fond of Senators myself. It's been widely noted that they almost never win presidential elections — and they all seem to think they deserve to be President. What is it about being a Senator?

15 comments:

It's called insulation from real life. Athletes, professors (I'm one too), senators, movie and music stars get it too (he painted with an admittedly broad brush). Too much ass-kissing and not enough doing (mowing, cooking, lifting, manual labor) is not good for a healthy ego.

On the other hand -- Trent Lott's house was absolutely -- and I mean "abso-bloomin'-lutely" -- demolished by Katrina. Some things reach everyone.

I was a big fan of Malcolm Wallop when he was in office. I loved hearing him speak on C-SPAN. Don't know if he ever got much done, but he had the right values. It reflects well on him that he left the Senate after a few terms.

Some Senators seem like genuinely thoughtful and decent people, but most of the prominent ones come across as gasbags or unprincipled ambitionoids. I once thought their dishonesty and cynicism had crested during the Clinton impeachment, but it has only gotten worse. John Kerry, in particular, seems to be an archetype of privileged incompetence who manages to be at once arrogant and out of touch (not that the Republicans don't have some real winners, too).

I really don't like where Congress has gone. There are too many there who are in, essentially, for life. I was somewhat surprised that John Kerry is the junior Senator from Mass., given his 20 or so years there. But I am sure there are more egregious examples.

At least in the Senate, there is some turnover, though not as much as I would like. In the House, there is very little - given the prevalence of gerrymandering.

I much prefer the citizen-legislator, as we now have in Colorado (except at the federal level, due to Supremecy, etc.) Maybe if we can get term limits in enough states, we can impose them federally for Congress.

Ron Wyden (D-Oregon) is renowned within the state for how much he helps people when asked. Some say it's just that he has a great staff, but he hired the staff. If you're in trouble unjustfiably (as for nstance losing Social Security when you're disabled and poor), call Wyden's office. No one will ask if you voted for him, either.